Top 10 FAQ

The thousands of volunteers greatly contribute to the success of the Games. The recruitment of volunteers for the Olympic Games is under the responsibility of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) as such you could apply to the OCOG, which manages the volunteer programme for each Games.

The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, used alone, in one or in five different colours, which are, from left to right, blue, yellow, black, green and red. The Olympic symbol (the Olympic rings) expresses the activity of the Olympic Movement and represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.

But watch out, it is wrong to say that each of the colours corresponds to a certain continent! In fact, when Pierre de Coubertin created the Rings in 1913, the five colours combined with the white background represented the colours of the flags of all nations at that time, without exception.

It was the Dominican priest Henri Didon who first expressed the words in the opening ceremony of a school sports event in 1881. Pierre de Coubertin, who was present that day, adopted them as the Olympic motto. It expresses the aspirations of the Olympic Movement not only in its athletic and technical sense but also from a moral and educational perspective.

Taking part in the Olympic Games is every athlete’s dream, and requires huge amounts of determination and long years of training.Athletes must first comply with the Olympic Charter and follow the rules of the International Federation (IF) governing their sport. The IFs establish the rules and organise qualifying events, while the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the athlete’s country supports the athlete and is responsible for entering them for the Games.

Women competed for the first time at the 1900 Games in Paris. Of a total of 997 athletes, 22 women competed in five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf.

The IOC is committed to gender equality in sport. The Olympic Charter, Rule 2, paragraph 7, states that: “The IOC’s role is to encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women.”

With the addition of women’s boxing to the Olympic programme, the 2012 Games in London were the first in which women competed in all the sports on the programme. Since 1991, any new sport seeking to join the Olympic programme must have women’s competitions.

At the 2012 Games in London, 44 per cent of the participants were women.

The IOC publishes its job and internships offers on its website. They can be found in the “Jobs” section. Applications for the available positions can be made online. Spontaneous applications are not accepted.

Carrying the Olympic torch is an unforgettable experience, and to have the chance to do this, you need to contact the Organising Committee for the Games (OCOG). The OCOG is responsible for the torch relay. For the next Games:

The Olympic oath was first sworn by Belgian fencer Victor Boin at the 1920 Games in Antwerp. It is part of the rites of the Olympic Games, and is taken by an athlete from the host country, on behalf of all the other athletes.

The Oath is similar to the one sworn by the athletes at the ancient Olympic Games. The only difference is that now the athletes take the oath holding the Olympic flag rather than on the entrails of a sacrificial animal.

The modern Olympic oath was written by Pierre de Coubertin. It has been modified over time to reflect the changing nature of sports competition.

The current Oath, which refers to doping and drugs, was introduced in December 1999, and was sworn for the first time at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney:“In the name of all the competitors I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.”

It was not until 1972 that a judge or an official also swore an oath at the Opening Ceremony of the Games and 2012, at the London Games, that a coach also swore an oath.